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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — for betting
  8. can — a tin
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bass — low music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. can — to be able to
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. can — a tin

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