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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 124 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rule — a law
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rule — government
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. date — the fruit
  17. row — a line
  18. chest — a box
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — completely
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. row — a quarrel

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