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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mine — for digging
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. band — a ring
  9. squash — the sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — from a university
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ground — a position
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bulb — for light
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. band — a music group
  24. mine — an explosive

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