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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — the season

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