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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. land — a country
  8. rash — a series
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bore — to tire
  24. land — to come down

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