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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. plane — a tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. present — there
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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