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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. sharp — clever
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — the animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. date — on the calendar

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