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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cold — an illness
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — child
  16. can — a tin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitch — completely
  24. kid — to tease

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