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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. file — a document
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pound — a weight
  8. firm — a company
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. firm — steady
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. firm — decided
  22. bat — the animal
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. track — a path

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