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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bore — to tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a tool
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — to visit
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. pop — soda
  17. file — a document
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. shower — rain
  22. pop — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. shower — to wash

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