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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: rock · land · bore · wound · season · squash · drill · object

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bore — to tire
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. drill — army training
  9. object — to protest
  10. land — to come down
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. drill — a practice
  14. land — a country
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. object — an aim
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — ground
  21. rock — music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. object — a thing

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