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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — wild animals
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — a match
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rush — hurry
  17. can — a tin
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. squash — to crush
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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