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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lie — to recline
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ground — a position
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. branch — a division
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. kid — child
  24. land — to come down

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