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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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Word bank
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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. spell — magic
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. present — there
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. march — music
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to click
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — an illness
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lean — to bend
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — letters
  23. present — the time now
  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