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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bound — tied together
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. shower — rain
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. squash — to crush
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bound — certain
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bound — obliged

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