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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. drill — a practice
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. ground — crushed
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — a position
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. prune — to trim
  16. drill — the tool
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. drill — army training
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wind — moving air

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