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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: foot · kid · spell · fall · squash · pitcher · cold · march

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — child
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. spell — magic
  19. foot — a measure
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spell — letters
  24. fall — to drop

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