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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. squash — to crush
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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