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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. ground — crushed
  5. capital — money
  6. field — for sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. ground — the earth
  11. shower — to wash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. field — farmland
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — a subject
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. squash — the vegetable

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