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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: game · rest · bore · squash · leaves · mine · snap · ruler

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bore — to tire
  7. rest — what's left
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bore — to drill
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. game — wild animals

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