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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chest — a box
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. board — a committee
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. board — to get on
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — gave birth

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