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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. shower — to wash
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mark — a trace
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — a country
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ground — a position
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — to come down
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ground — crushed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — rain
  24. wind — moving air

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