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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. squash — to crush
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — the earth
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. foot — a measure
  15. spring — the season
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. kick — in football
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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