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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: bore · fan · pit · toast · squash · arm · cold · mouse

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bore — to drill
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cold — an illness
  24. arm — a part of something

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