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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fork — in a road
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. club — for golf
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pass — a permit
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mouse — the animal

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