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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pit — in a race
  4. land — to come down
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — for sport
  8. pit — a hole
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rest — a break
  17. drill — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. land — ground
  20. court — of a king
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. court — of law
  24. squash — to crush

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