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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — army training
  9. cap — a hat
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cap — of ice
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. drill — the tool

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