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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: bore · squash · club · mouse · pit · capital · tear · cold

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — money
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pit — a hole
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. club — for golf
  10. capital — a city
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — a group
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mouse — the animal

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