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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — for light
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — an illness
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — for light
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ball — a dance
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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