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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: kick · rash · squash · bass · cabinet · ground · hand · date

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. hand — help
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bass — low music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ground — crushed
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kick — a thrill

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