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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: prune · bat · squash · suit · cold · nail · bore · board

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. board — a committee
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — to tire
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bore — to drill
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. suit — clothes
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — in cards
  24. cold — the Cold War

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