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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. squash — to crush
  11. sharp — clever
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pop — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — to go on
  20. squash — the sport
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. last — finally
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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