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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. root — of a word
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spell — magic
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bank — for money
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ground — a position
  16. bank — of a river
  17. root — the cause
  18. bank — for money
  19. root — of a plant
  20. spell — letters
  21. pit — in a race
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the vegetable

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