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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: squash · game · kid · scale · rule · foot · mine · rest

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kid — to tease
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. rule — government
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — child
  11. rest — what's left
  12. squash — to crush
  13. scale — size or range
  14. foot — a measure
  15. rest — a break
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — a match
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. rule — a law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a kind of play

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