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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — a match
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. squash — the sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. season — of the year
  23. mine — for digging
  24. calf — a young animal

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