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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fine — high quality
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pitch — completely
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fine — all right
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — to rip
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kid — child
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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