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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spell — magic
  7. pit — in a race
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mate — a partner
  13. march — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. mate — to breed
  24. kid — child

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