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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 116 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. present — a gift
  7. squash — the sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lean — thin
  14. scale — in music
  15. snap — to click
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — size or range
  19. present — the time now
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — there

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