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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. last — finally
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — ground
  5. suit — clothes
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. last — final
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. suit — to fit
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bear — the animal
  23. last — to go on
  24. pitch — completely

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