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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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. pass — to spend time
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — crushed
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. roll — a list
  14. spring — of water
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — the earth
  22. roll — a cake
  23. spring — a coil
  24. saw — the tool

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