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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — a line
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — in sport
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. net — for catching
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — a position
  18. wind — moving air
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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