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

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. last — final
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rest — a break
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lean — thin
  10. rest — what's left
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. last — finally
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ground — crushed
  16. kick — in football
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rest — what's left
  21. last — to go on
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lean — to rest against
  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