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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 124 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spring — of water
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. swing — to play on
  14. squash — the sport
  15. deal — to handle
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. swing — music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — a coil
  24. date — the fruit

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