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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — in music
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. ground — crushed
  7. squash — the sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. season — of the year
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — for digging
  24. trunk — of a car

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