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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. deal — to handle
  4. squash — to crush
  5. drill — the tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — the sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. prune — to trim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — for digging
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. drill — a practice
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — army training

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