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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bound — obliged
  13. board — a committee
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bore — to drill
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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