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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — in biology
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. club — for dancing
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to click
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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