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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rock — music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. plane — a tool
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — the tool
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. march — music

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