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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. can — a tin
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. bore — to tire
  11. kick — in football
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bore — to drill
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. can — to be able to
  20. tear — to rip
  21. can — a tin
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kick — a thrill

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