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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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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: toast · squash · bat · kick · mate · pitch · mark · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kick — in football
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. last — finally
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mate — a friend
  7. toast — bread
  8. mate — a partner
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mark — a trace
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. last — to go on
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mate — to breed

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