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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. foot — a measure
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fine — high quality
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. present — there
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. foot — part of the body

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