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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — the sport
  3. swing — in golf
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. squash — to crush
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. swing — music
  18. fork — in a road
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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