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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. present — there
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. drill — army training
  8. scale — in music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — size or range
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fall — the season
  18. cell — a phone
  19. snap — to click
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. present — the time now
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cell — in biology

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