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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spring — of water
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. band — a music group
  13. spring — a coil
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bore — to drill
  17. spring — the season
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bore — to tire
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  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