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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 116 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: fan · spring · can · squash · court · snap · ground · dip

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. spring — of water
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. court — of law
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — of a king
  19. snap — to click
  20. dip — to sink
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. can — to be able to

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