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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. mug — a face
  8. last — finally
  9. race — humankind
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stock — goods
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rock — music
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stock — shares
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. race — the arms race
  21. squash — to crush
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — a stone
  24. last — final

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