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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — the earth
  6. march — the month
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — in a road
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. march — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spell — letters
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tear — from crying

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