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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 124 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. vault — a safe
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. field — a subject
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — farmland
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. sharp — clever
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lie — to recline
  24. field — for sport

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