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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mug — a cup
  9. game — a match
  10. rest — what's left
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mug — to rob
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rest — a break
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. squash — the sport

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