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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bore — to tire
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. land — a country
  7. pit — a hole
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — ground
  19. pit — in a race
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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