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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. drill — the tool
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — army training
  10. row — a line
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. content — happy
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. key — in music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. squash — to crush

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