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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pop — music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pop — soda
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — a cup
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ground — a position
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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