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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a music group
  9. mine — for digging
  10. squash — the sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stem — to come from
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cell — in biology
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stem — of a plant

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