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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 116 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — all right
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mine — for digging
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. lash — an eyelash

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