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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. lie — to recline
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. race — a contest
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. pitcher — a jug

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