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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. last — finally
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — a trail
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — in music
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wind — moving air
  23. snap — to click
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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