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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — to come down
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — the sport
  13. kick — in football
  14. file — a document
  15. can — a tin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a tool
  23. can — a tin
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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