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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rule — government
  7. game — a match
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rule — a law
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — wild animals
  24. prune — to trim

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