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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cell — a phone
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cue — for pool
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. temple — a place of worship

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