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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. squash — the sport
  6. roll — a list
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. date — the fruit
  11. roll — a cake
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a music group
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wind — moving air
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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