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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. rash — a series
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a dance
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. club — for golf
  11. ground — a position
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. ground — crushed
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — a group
  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