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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ground — a position
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. current — of water
  11. bore — to drill
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. current — happening now
  15. bore — to tire
  16. current — electric
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. ground — the earth
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. craft — boats

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