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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — thin
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. row — to paddle
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bore — to tire
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bore — to drill

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