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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. club — for dancing
  3. squash — the sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — help
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ground — a position
  11. club — for golf
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. rule — government
  19. club — a group
  20. face — to point toward
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rule — a law

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