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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 116 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bear — the animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. shower — rain

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