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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. mug — a face
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. club — for dancing
  7. squash — to crush
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mug — a cup
  11. kid — child
  12. mug — to rob
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. scale — size or range
  24. kid — to tease

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