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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fall — to drop
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. content — happy
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kid — child
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fall — the season
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a dance
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. court — for sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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