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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bore — to tire
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bore — to drill
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rash — a series
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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