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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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. mark — a trace
  4. roll — a cake
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — to tease
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. roll — a list
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. saw — the tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kid — child
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. bore — to drill

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