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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. squash — the sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. snap — to click
  8. track — a path
  9. rest — what's left
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. track — a song
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — to keep track
  18. staff — a stick
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. staff — employees
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cell — in biology

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