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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ball — a dance
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — help
  22. squash — the sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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