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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — finally
  3. land — to come down
  4. lean — thin
  5. file — a line of people
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. land — a country
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a tool
  13. land — ground
  14. last — final
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kick — in football
  19. last — to go on
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a document
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kick — with a leg

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