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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: dip · craft · cold · squash · last · bat

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. last — finally
  3. squash — to crush
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. last — to go on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — the animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. craft — a skill
  10. last — final
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. craft — boats
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — in an idiom

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