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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spring — the season
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — the season
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. arm — part of the body
  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