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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. drill — a practice
  3. squash — to crush
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. drill — army training
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rock — a stone
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. drill — the tool
  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