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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: squash · game · rule · land · ground · stick · track · wake

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — ground
  4. track — a path
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — to come down
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. track — a song
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ground — a position
  16. rule — government
  17. squash — the sport
  18. land — a country
  19. game — a match
  20. wake — a trail
  21. squash — to crush
  22. ground — crushed
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ground — the earth

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