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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. suit — in cards
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pound — a weight
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. suit — to fit
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. suit — clothes
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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