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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. charge — in control
  6. track — a path
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. charge — a price
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — from crying
  12. track — to keep track
  13. date — the fruit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — to crush
  17. track — a song
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — electricity
  21. rash — a series
  22. squash — the sport
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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