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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — letters
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. band — a music group
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — to tease
  21. squash — to crush
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — a phone
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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