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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rush — hurry
  9. wake — a trail
  10. content — the amount
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. squash — the sport
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. temple — a place of worship

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