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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ground — crushed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bank — for money
  13. hand — help
  14. ground — a position
  15. drill — a practice
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. bank — for money
  19. scale — in music
  20. bank — of a river
  21. squash — to crush
  22. drill — the tool
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pound — a weight

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