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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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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bore — to tire
  4. court — of law
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. stem — to come from
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. hide — animal skin

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