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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 · fall · saw · rush · date · spell · trunk · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. squash — to crush
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fall — to drop
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spell — magic
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. squash — the sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — hurry
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spell — letters
  24. fall — to drop

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