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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — help
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mug — a cup
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — to crush
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mug — to rob
  17. spell — letters
  18. mug — a face
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stem — to come from
  21. game — a match
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — in cards
  24. nail — for a hammer

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