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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. staff — a stick
  3. current — of water
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bat — the animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mine — for digging
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. current — happening now
  16. staff — employees
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. current — electric
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. staff — employees

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