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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. ground — crushed
  4. squash — the sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spell — magic
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. fork — in a road
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ground — a position
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — the earth
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. capital — money
  24. squash — to crush

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