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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — a series
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. squash — to crush
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. mate — a friend
  9. squash — the sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. net — for catching
  12. last — final
  13. file — a line of people
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mate — a partner
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mate — to breed

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