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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. board — a committee
  4. season — in sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. file — a tool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bore — to tire
  9. file — a document
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chip — for betting
  16. board — to get on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — not warm
  19. season — of the year
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. dip — to sink
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — the Cold War

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