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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. track — a path
  14. wake — a trail
  15. last — final
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. mine — for digging
  24. straw — dry grass

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