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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bore — to drill
  6. shower — rain
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — child
  10. cue — a hint
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. hand — in cards
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. race — humankind
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bore — to tire

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