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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. key — the most important part
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. key — for a lock
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mine — for digging
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — a trail
  20. sharp — clever
  21. key — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. squash — the vegetable

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