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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a committee
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. race — humankind

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