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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. last — finally
  4. mug — a face
  5. last — final
  6. bear — the animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. file — a tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bat — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — in sport
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a document
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rush — hurry

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