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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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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: bay · bound · mine · ground · squash · pop · chip · arm

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pop — soda
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pop — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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