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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. spell — magic
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. spell — letters
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. scale — in music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. squash — to crush
  20. season — in sport
  21. spell — a short time
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. scale — size or range
  24. drill — army training

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