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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — there
  5. bore — to tire
  6. can — a tin
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. present — the time now
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — a position
  11. mate — a friend
  12. can — a tin
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spring — the season
  15. present — a gift
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bore — to drill
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ground — crushed

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