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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bat — the animal
  5. suit — to fit
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a ring
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. suit — clothes
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. drill — the tool
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pit — in a race
  19. mate — to breed
  20. drill — a practice
  21. squash — the sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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