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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. press — newspapers
  5. last — finally
  6. squash — to crush
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ball — a great time
  11. vault — a safe
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ball — a dance
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. press — a publisher
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. squash — the sport
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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