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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. squash — the sport
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. land — a country
  7. squash — to crush
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. swing — music
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bass — the fish
  13. land — ground
  14. lean — thin
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bass — low music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — to come down
  22. swing — in golf
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cell — in biology

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