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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. 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 — a position
  3. march — the month
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — the earth
  7. last — final
  8. march — the month
  9. ground — crushed
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lean — thin
  13. content — happy
  14. face — part of the head
  15. last — to go on
  16. face — to confront
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. march — music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. last — finally
  22. face — to point toward
  23. squash — the sport
  24. 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