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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rule — a law
  3. track — to keep track
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. can — to be able to
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — the sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. can — a tin
  16. track — a song
  17. rule — government
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — a path
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. squash — to crush
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bat — in an idiom

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