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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. roll — a list
  5. craft — boats
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wind — moving air
  12. roll — a cake
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ground — crushed
  21. squash — the sport
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bat — for baseball
  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