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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lean — to bend
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — in golf
  9. last — final
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chip — for betting
  14. swing — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. track — a song
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. swing — to play on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — finally
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lean — thin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. track — a path

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