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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. last — finally
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cell — in biology
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rush — hurry
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. key — for a lock
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. key — in music
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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