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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rash — a series
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — a match
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. net — after costs
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fine — high quality
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kid — to tease

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