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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: mate · scale · cell · squash · dip · march · rush · tear

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. scale — in music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. march — the month
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. march — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — size or range
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cell — a phone

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