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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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 — to crush
  2. fine — all right
  3. kid — to tease
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bore — to tire
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. season — in sport
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. season — of the year
  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