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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. shower — rain
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tube — a container
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mate — a partner
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. snap — to click
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — the underground
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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