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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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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: bat · rock · toast · cold · ruler · squash · kid · game

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cold — not warm
  4. toast — bread
  5. squash — the sport
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rock — music
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — to crush
  18. game — a match
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rock — a stone

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