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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. 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. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. spell — a short time
  13. land — a country
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. spell — magic
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. 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