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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — a position
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mate — a partner
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pop — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pop — soda
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kid — child
  16. can — a tin
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mate — to breed
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. can — to be able to
  24. squash — to crush

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