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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 116 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — to confront
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — after costs
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. squash — the sport
  11. face — to point toward
  12. track — a song
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — a phone
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bulb — for light
  20. net — in sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bulb — of a plant

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