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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — a video
  7. land — a country
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — to cut
  10. squash — the sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fine — high quality
  24. root — the cause

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