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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. board — to get on
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bore — to drill
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bore — to tire
  13. board — a committee
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — not warm
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. hand — help
  24. board — a flat piece

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