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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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. rush — hurry
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. swing — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bore — to drill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. swing — in golf

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