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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: drill · squash · temple · chip · ground · spring · face · hand

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — to eat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. ground — a position
  15. face — part of the head
  16. drill — the tool
  17. face — to confront
  18. drill — army training
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chip — for betting

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