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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mark — a trace
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bass — low music
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — child

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