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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bore — to drill
  3. object — an aim
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — the earth
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. object — to protest
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fall — the season
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — a position
  21. fall — to drop
  22. row — a line
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bore — to tire

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