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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — clever
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — to crush
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. mark — a grade
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rock — a stone

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