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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: rock · spell · roll · kid · chest · squash · object · wind

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. object — to protest
  6. spell — letters
  7. roll — a cake
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — a box
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. object — a thing
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. object — an aim
  21. roll — a list
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chest — of your body

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