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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: sharp · squash · rule · hand · ground · wound · roll · pitch

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. ground — crushed
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — help
  11. roll — a list
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — completely
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rule — a law
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. sharp — exactly

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