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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — to tire
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. kid — child
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. staff — employees
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bore — to drill
  20. roll — a list
  21. cell — in biology
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. saw — the tool

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