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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. toast — bread
  5. pit — a hole
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pit — in a race
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — a line
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. nail — for a hammer

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