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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — electricity
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. charge — a price
  8. swing — to play on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. charge — in control
  19. stand — to bear
  20. swing — in golf
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cold — not warm
  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