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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — a country
  5. pop — soda
  6. face — to confront
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pop — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. face — to point toward
  19. land — to come down
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pitch — completely

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