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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — a lid
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bank — for money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cap — a hat
  7. date — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wind — moving air

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