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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — crushed
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ground — a position
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. scale — size or range
  8. land — ground
  9. ground — the earth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. land — a country
  12. squash — the sport
  13. present — the time now
  14. land — to come down
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — there
  17. scale — in music
  18. squash — the vegetable

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