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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · squash · toast · bat · wound · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bear — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wound — an injury
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. toast — bread
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bat — for baseball

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