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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kid — child
  3. bore — to drill
  4. sharp — clever
  5. land — ground
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. land — a country
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bore — to tire
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — letters
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bore — gave birth

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