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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. charge — a price
  7. bore — to drill
  8. club — a group
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. club — for golf
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — an illness

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