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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bore — to drill
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ground — the earth
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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