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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: squash · band · mine · bore · land · mark · cell · pitcher

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cell — in biology
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mark — a grade
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bore — to tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mark — a trace
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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