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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bore — to tire
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. last — final
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitch — completely
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. last — to go on
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ball — a dance
  20. squash — the sport
  21. content — happy
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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