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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. last — finally
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — to roll

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