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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. degree — an amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tube — a container
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tube — the underground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bore — to drill
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bore — to tire
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. hand — help

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