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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. ground — crushed
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. sharp — clever
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ground — a position
  12. kick — in football
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to click
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ground — the earth
  24. squash — to crush

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