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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. last — finally
  4. squash — to crush
  5. last — final
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. lean — thin
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wake — a trail
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cap — a hat
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — help
  24. pop — soda

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