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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · squash · court · bass · bore · foot · dip · cell

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the fish
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. court — of law
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bore — to drill
  7. foot — a measure
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bore — to tire
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. court — of a king
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — low music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. squash — the sport
  18. dip — to sink
  19. court — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. cell — in biology
  24. squash — the vegetable

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