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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — to tease
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — for sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — to get on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — the sport
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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