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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. game — wild animals
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. shower — to wash
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. land — a country
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — the underground
  18. firm — steady
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. firm — decided
  21. tube — a container
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — rain
  24. firm — a company

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