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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rock — a stone
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rock — music
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bore — to tire
  22. hand — help
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bore — gave birth

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