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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. game — wild animals
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. field — for sport
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bound — obliged
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bound — certain
  13. squash — the sport
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rush — hurry
  18. field — a subject

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