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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: squash · bore · game · club · craft · race · hand · spring

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. game — wild animals
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spring — of water
  8. game — a match
  9. club — a group
  10. craft — a skill
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. race — a contest
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spring — the season
  17. hand — help
  18. bore — to drill
  19. race — humankind
  20. club — for golf
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — in cards
  24. club — for dancing

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