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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fall — the season
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a friend
  18. row — a line
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. tube — a container
  24. row — to paddle

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