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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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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: bat · saw · trunk · wind · dip · squash · rock · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. dip — to sink
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. saw — the tool
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — moving air
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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