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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ball — a great time
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — a break
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. clip — to cut
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. foot — a measure
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — a box

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