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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. can — a tin
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cell — a phone
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wind — moving air
  12. can — a tin
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — certain
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bound — obliged
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bore — to tire
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wind — to turn a key

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