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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. row — to paddle
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. squash — to crush
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — rain
  14. plane — a tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — to wash
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. season — in sport

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