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

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. object — an aim
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bore — to drill
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — the season
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — of water
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pitch — completely

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