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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — a committee
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. toast — bread
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. band — a music group
  11. bulb — for light
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. court — of a king
  17. kick — in football
  18. squash — the sport
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. toast — the most admired

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