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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cap — a lid
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mine — for digging
  6. tube — the underground
  7. roll — a list
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tube — a container
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cap — a hat

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