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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. net — in sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. net — for catching
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. squash — the sport
  11. file — a document
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. last — finally
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — final
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fine — high quality
  20. shower — rain
  21. net — after costs
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — to wash

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