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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a document
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a tool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. file — a line of people
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. present — a gift
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. squash — the sport
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. capital — a city
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — the season
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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