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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 120 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: squash · rush · calf · track · fine · cold · rule · bat

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — a path
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. track — a song
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fine — all right
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. cold — not warm
  24. calf — of the leg

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