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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — finally
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — to go on
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. craft — boats
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. last — final
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bore — to tire
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pass — to spend time

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