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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — help
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rash — hasty
  8. can — a tin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. shower — rain
  12. can — to be able to
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. march — music
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rash — a series
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bore — to tire
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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