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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — to go on
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. squash — the sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stock — shares
  13. last — final
  14. chest — a box
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — for sport

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