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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bore — to tire
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — to drill
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. leaves — to go away

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