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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. squash — the sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a line of people
  8. dip — to sink
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — a contest
  12. scale — in music
  13. file — a document
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — to crush
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. dip — to dunk

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