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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. kid — to tease
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. kid — child
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. chip — for betting
  24. squash — the sport

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