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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fall — the season
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tube — a container
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — rain
  18. mug — a cup
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mug — a face
  23. row — a line
  24. rule — government

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