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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bore — to tire
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mate — a partner
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a music group
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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