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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: deal · pitch · squash · bore · saw · roll · cold · land

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bore — to tire
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — ground
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pitch — completely
  22. squash — the sport
  23. land — a country
  24. saw — the tool

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