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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. track — a song
  3. race — humankind
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. can — to be able to
  11. squash — the sport
  12. track — a path
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — to keep track
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cold — not warm

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