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

Word bank: squash · cold · bound · prune · race · cue · fork · bore

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — humankind
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — a contest
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — to drill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — to tire
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cue — a hint
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cue — a signal

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