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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. tube — a container
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kid — child
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kid — to tease
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chip — in a computer

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