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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cell — in biology
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cell — a phone
  6. toast — bread
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — to tire
  19. kid — child
  20. ball — a great time
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cell — in a prison

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