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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — to wash
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. last — to go on
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — finally
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. squash — to crush
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. track — a path
  23. pitch — completely
  24. nail — on a finger

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