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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — to wash
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spell — magic
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. board — a committee
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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