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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. file — a tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rush — hurry
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. squash — the sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tube — a container
  18. file — a document
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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