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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mate — to breed
  7. club — for golf
  8. mate — a friend
  9. club — for dancing
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. ground — a position
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — child
  24. arm — part of the body

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