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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bass — low music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kid — child
  12. squash — the sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. land — a country
  24. bass — the instrument

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