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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to drill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — for betting
  7. file — a line of people
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — a match
  11. file — a document
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bore — to tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — from a university
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. degree — an amount

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