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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bound — certain
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. march — music
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cue — for pool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. squash — the sport
  18. march — the month
  19. cue — a signal
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — a box
  24. bound — tied together

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