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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — to drill
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. net — for catching
  13. bat — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. capital — a city
  24. squash — the sport

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