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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — ground
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. land — a country
  12. pop — soda
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. present — there
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pop — music

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