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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · rule · bat · bowl · ground · squash

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. ground — the earth
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tear — to rip
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — government
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. squash — to crush
  12. ground — a position
  13. squash — the sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tear — from crying

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