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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. club — for golf
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — farmland
  5. object — to protest
  6. hand — help
  7. object — a thing
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. object — an aim
  10. game — a match
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. club — a group
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lie — to recline
  22. club — for dancing
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — in cards

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