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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. file — a tool
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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