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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a music group
  5. bore — to drill
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — ground
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ball — a dance
  14. land — a country
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. mark — a grade
  23. ball — a great time
  24. straw — dry grass

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