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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rule — a law
  3. bore — to drill
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. charge — in control
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — final
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. dip — to sink
  14. last — to go on
  15. pit — in a race
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. rule — government
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — to tire
  24. last — finally

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