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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cap — of ice
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pass — a permit
  23. spring — the season
  24. chip — to eat

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