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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — for digging
  8. squash — the sport
  9. craft — boats
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pop — soda
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pitcher — a jug

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