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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bat — the animal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the sport
  19. press — to push
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — an injury

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