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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pit — a hole
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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