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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. ground — a position
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — to crush
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — to grow
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bore — to drill
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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