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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: bore · squash · wind · tear · chair · pitcher · bat · game

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bore — to drill
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. bore — to tire
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — 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