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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fine — all right
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bore — to tire
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cell — a phone
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — the Cold War

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