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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — the earth
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ground — a position
  10. shower — to wash
  11. board — a committee
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spell — a short time
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. spell — letters

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