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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. foot — a measure
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. last — final
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spring — a coil
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. plane — a tool
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. chip — to eat
  24. squash — the sport

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