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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pound — a weight
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stock — goods
  11. vault — a safe
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. scale — size or range
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. ground — crushed
  20. squash — to crush
  21. scale — in music
  22. stock — shares
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. sharp — exactly

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