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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: cold · squash · pop · band · bore · mug · mate · wake

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. band — a ring
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. squash — the sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. mug — a face
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — to drill
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cold — an illness

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