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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ground — a position
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ground — crushed
  10. squash — the sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — for sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. squash — to crush
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. snap — to click
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — farmland
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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