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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — to crush
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lie — to recline
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bass — low music
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com