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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fall — to drop
  3. squash — the sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — an injury
  8. squash — to crush
  9. season — in sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bore — to drill
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — the season
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. season — of the year
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — gave birth

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