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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pass — a permit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bore — to tire
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a hole
  13. drill — army training
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. scale — in music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ground — a position
  24. chest — a box

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