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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. chip — to eat
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. squash — the sport
  7. craft — boats
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. craft — a skill
  12. shower — rain
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chip — for betting
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to sink

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