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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chair — a leader
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. saw — the tool

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