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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lean — thin
  8. stock — shares
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lean — to bend
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bound — certain
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bound — tied together
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bound — obliged
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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