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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chip — to eat
  4. land — to come down
  5. bore — to drill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lie — to recline
  13. band — a ring
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. season — in sport
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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