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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. row — a line
  4. pop — music
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — final
  7. firm — decided
  8. last — to go on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. firm — steady
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. squash — the sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. firm — a company
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pop — to visit
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pop — soda
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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