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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pit — a hole
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rest — a break
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. row — a line
  21. lie — to recline
  22. squash — the sport
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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