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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. drill — army training
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. spell — a short time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. squash — the sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — a match
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. date — the fruit
  24. game — wild animals

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