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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — to tire
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the sport
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — to paddle
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ball — a great time
  16. club — for golf
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. ball — a dance
  19. press — newspapers
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cold — an illness

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