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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. spring — the season
  4. object — to protest
  5. ground — a position
  6. race — a contest
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spring — of water
  9. ground — the earth
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. race — humankind
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bore — to tire
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. spring — a coil
  21. object — an aim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ground — crushed
  24. object — a thing

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