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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. ground — a position
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. drill — the tool
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. drill — army training
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ground — crushed
  9. present — a gift
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — the season
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — of water
  15. fall — to drop
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — to crush
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — to sink
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — the season
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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