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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chest — a box
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. field — farmland
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. field — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fine — high quality
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. last — finally
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — final
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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