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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. net — for catching
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. net — in sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. squash — to crush
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — army training
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. net — after costs
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cue — a signal

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