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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — to go on
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. squash — to crush
  12. file — a document
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — final
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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