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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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Word bank
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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: wound · ground · cabinet · straw · hand · bowl · snap · squash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ground — a position
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. hand — in cards
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to click
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. hand — help
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. squash — to crush

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