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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. kid — child
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — a thrill

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