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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: bowl · date · squash · ball · swing · game · cap · rash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — to play on
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. squash — the sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rash — a series
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. squash — to crush
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — music
  18. game — a match
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rash — hasty

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