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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bore — to tire
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bore — to drill
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — music

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