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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — the earth
  6. squash — the sport
  7. toast — bread
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — a tool
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. ground — a position
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bear — the animal

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