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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — to come down
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. land — a country
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. tear — from crying

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