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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pit — in a race
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rule — government
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — to crush
  8. lean — thin
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lean — to bend
  13. snap — to click
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rule — a law
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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