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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. squash — to crush
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ground — the earth
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. swing — music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fan — a supporter

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