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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. stock — goods
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — for light
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stock — shares
  24. tear — from crying

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