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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. file — a line of people
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — hurry
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a document
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. present — a gift
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. present — there
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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