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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 116 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bound — obliged
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bore — to drill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mate — to breed
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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