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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. chest — a box
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. last — final
  13. pass — a permit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. toast — bread
  17. field — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. last — to go on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. last — finally

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