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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a match
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. ground — the earth
  6. staff — employees
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. staff — employees
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hand — help
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. game — wild animals
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ground — a position

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