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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. ground — crushed
  6. squash — the sport
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — money
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. snap — to click
  14. tube — the underground
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. sharp — clever
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — a position
  23. tube — a container
  24. pitch — completely

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