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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — certain
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ground — a position
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. row — to paddle
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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