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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. snap — to click
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ground — a position
  10. can — to be able to
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. spell — magic
  16. ground — the earth
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — to crush
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — a short time
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — child

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