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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: kid · last · pit · pop · ball · cell · ground · squash

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — to go on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. last — finally
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — in a race
  19. kid — child
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pit — a hole
  24. ball — a great time

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