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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: rest · wound · court · toast · squash · spell · bore · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rest — what's left
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. spell — a short time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. court — of law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spell — magic
  18. toast — bread
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — for sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — letters
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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