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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pop — to visit
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. last — final
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. pop — soda
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pop — music
  20. rush — hurry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — of water
  24. cold — the Cold War

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