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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. root — of a word
  8. rest — a break
  9. hand — in cards
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — to come down
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. season — in sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. hand — help
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — ground
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rest — what's left
  23. season — of the year
  24. land — a country

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