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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wound — an injury
  4. root — of a word
  5. squash — the sport
  6. present — there
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ground — a position
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. root — the cause
  19. present — the time now
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — a law
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — letters

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