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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spell — magic
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. kid — child
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. dip — to sink
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bore — to tire
  22. spell — letters
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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