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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lie — to recline
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cold — an illness
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. tube — a container
  19. rest — what's left
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — for digging
  23. squash — to crush
  24. march — music

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