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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cell — a phone
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — army training
  8. last — finally
  9. ball — a great time
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fine — all right
  13. squash — the sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. land — ground
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a dance
  20. last — final
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cell — in biology

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