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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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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: wind · bore · rule · roll · squash · vault · game · row

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. game — a match
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. roll — a list
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. squash — to crush
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. vault — a safe
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — to paddle
  21. squash — the sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. roll — on a roll

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