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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. tube — a container
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitch — completely
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bear — the animal

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