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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — a match
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. scale — in music
  20. swing — music
  21. squash — to crush
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. game — wild animals

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