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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cold — an illness
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a music group
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. squash — to crush
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. face — part of the head
  22. band — a ring
  23. game — a match
  24. band — a rubber band

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