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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cap — a hat
  3. face — part of the head
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. face — to point toward
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tube — the underground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — of ice
  18. face — to confront
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — not warm

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