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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. date — the fruit
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cell — a phone
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mark — a trace

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