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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: last · shower · bay · ground · bulb · bowl · squash · game

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. squash — the sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. shower — rain
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. last — finally
  18. game — a match
  19. last — to go on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ground — the earth
  24. last — final

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