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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — in control
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. charge — a price
  13. pop — music
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. sharp — clever
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stock — goods
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — shares
  22. charge — electricity
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cold — not warm

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