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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. charge — a price
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. charge — in control
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cue — a hint
  19. charge — electricity
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cue — for pool

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