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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 116 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. squash — to crush
  4. file — a document
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bass — low music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — the animal

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