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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tube — a container
  3. land — a country
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bore — to tire
  15. land — ground
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — to recline
  20. chest — a box
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fork — in a road
  24. dip — to sink

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