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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rash — a series
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pop — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pop — soda
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mine — for digging

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