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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. drill — army training
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — help
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. squash — to crush
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ground — a position
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — the earth
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. drill — 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