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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 120 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: rest · pop · wind · fork · fan · kick · squash · straw

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — in football
  4. pop — to visit
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — a break
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — soda
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — moving air

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