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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cell — a phone
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. last — to go on
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. roll — a list
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. last — finally
  18. spell — magic
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fine — high quality
  21. spell — a short time
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spell — letters

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