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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. hand — help
  6. ground — the earth
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ground — crushed
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ground — a position
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chip — for betting

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