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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. lean — to bend
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spring — a coil
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. key — for a lock
  13. lean — thin
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. roll — a list
  16. shower — to wash
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. roll — a cake
  19. spring — of water
  20. drill — army training
  21. key — in music
  22. pass — a permit
  23. drill — a practice
  24. squash — to crush

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