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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. land — ground
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. land — a country
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. kid — to tease
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. pound — a weight
  17. squash — to crush
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. land — to come down
  20. prune — to trim
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. swing — music
  24. prune — to trim

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