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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — government
  4. degree — from a university
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. can — to be able to
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — a law
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. can — a tin
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spell — letters
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the sport
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to click
  23. spell — magic
  24. craft — a skill

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