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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hand — help
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. present — a gift
  7. tube — a container
  8. shower — rain
  9. file — a tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. file — a document
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a line of people
  17. present — the time now
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bore — to drill
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a round shape

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