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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 120 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. squash — the sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rash — a series
  14. pop — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. last — final
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pop — soda
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. last — finally
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bat — the animal

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