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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — in sport
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. squash — to crush
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bore — to tire
  20. shower — to wash
  21. field — a subject
  22. squash — the sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. field — farmland

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