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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mark — a grade
  3. hand — in cards
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fall — to drop
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fall — to drop
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bat — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. suit — to fit
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fall — the season
  24. mark — a trace

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