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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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. mine — for digging
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — from a university
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — the earth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — a position
  17. squash — the sport
  18. nail — for a hammer

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