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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: snap · kid · mate · mine · scale · squash · tube · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. scale — in music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mate — to breed
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. kid — child
  24. snap — to click

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