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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ground — a position
  3. can — to be able to
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. land — to come down
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — ground
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bound — obliged
  12. squash — the sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. bound — certain
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bound — tied together
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — the earth
  22. land — a country
  23. clip — for paper
  24. can — a tin

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