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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. can — a tin
  3. squash — the sport
  4. can — to be able to
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — a practice
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fall — to drop
  11. face — to confront
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. squash — to crush
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lean — thin
  18. drill — army training
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fall — the season
  24. lean — to rest against

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