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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bowl · pit · game · rush · kid · row

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kid — child
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a line
  12. game — a match
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bore — to drill
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pit — a hole
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. game — wild animals
  24. squash — the sport

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