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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. file — a tool
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. face — part of the head
  8. dip — to sink
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tube — a container
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitch — completely
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. file — a line of people
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. file — a document
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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