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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. track — a path
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — a law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. roll — a cake
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. track — to keep track
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — a list
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — thin

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