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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — an illness
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bore — to drill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tube — a container
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. game — wild animals
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chair — a professorship

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