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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bore — to drill
  5. land — ground
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. season — in sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. season — of the year
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. capital — a city
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mug — a face
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — money
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — a weight
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — to crush
  24. land — a country

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