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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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. bound — obliged
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. charge — electricity
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. land — ground
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. land — a country
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bound — certain
  14. charge — in control
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. date — the fruit
  18. charge — a price
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rest — a break
  22. bound — tied together
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — to come down

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