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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rash — hasty
  9. row — to paddle
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. row — a line
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. can — a tin
  18. plane — a tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rash — a series
  22. shower — to wash
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — the vegetable

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