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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 · dip · game · squash · pop · jam · rush · cell

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pop — soda
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — a match
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. cell — a phone
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pop — music
  24. rush — hurry

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