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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — soda
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pass — a permit
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. squash — the sport
  12. date — the fruit
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pop — music
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chair — a leader
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. chair — to sit on

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