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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 116 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: squash · sharp · cold · mine · bore · kick · mouse · game

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cold — an illness
  4. game — wild animals
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bore — to drill
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — in football
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — not warm

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