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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. kick — in football
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — farmland
  9. suit — clothes
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to click
  16. suit — in cards
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. suit — to fit
  20. squash — the sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — the earth
  24. row — to paddle

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