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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. key — for a lock
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stem — to come from
  9. last — finally
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. key — in music
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. shower — rain
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. ground — a position
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. squash — to crush
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tube — a container
  21. ground — crushed
  22. tube — the underground
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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