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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bore — to drill
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rock — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kid — to tease
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bore — to tire
  14. rock — a stone
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kid — child
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — to breed
  24. racket — a loud noise

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