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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — to eat
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. drill — the tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. squash — the sport
  10. drill — army training
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — a practice
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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