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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · wind · squash · spring · toast · rule

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. toast — bread
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rule — a law
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rule — government
  12. spring — of water
  13. kick — in football
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. spring — the season
  18. squash — the sport

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