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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. track — a path
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. season — of the year
  8. game — wild animals
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — the animal
  13. game — a match
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. season — in sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. track — a song
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — to crush
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — to keep track

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