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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. net — after costs
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bore — to drill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bore — to tire
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — for catching
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — in sport
  18. dip — to sink
  19. pitch — completely
  20. file — a document
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fork — in a road
  24. squash — the vegetable

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