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

Word bank: firm · squash · cold · kick · foot · pitcher · ruler · date

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. firm — a company
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — decided
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. firm — steady
  13. kick — in football
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — an illness
  20. date — the fruit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — on the calendar

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