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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hand — help
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of law
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hand — in cards
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of a king
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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