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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 116 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: dip · track · straw · bat · cell · pop · fine · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — music
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — a song
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — to crush
  12. track — a path
  13. fine — all right
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pop — to visit
  19. track — to keep track
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pop — soda
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fine — a penalty

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