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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 120 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — for digging
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bound — obliged
  14. foot — a measure
  15. shower — rain
  16. squash — the sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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