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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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chest — a box
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — music
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rush — hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rock — music
  24. rush — a thrill

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