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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bore — to tire
  9. band — a music group
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bore — to drill
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — a box
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — to crush
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — in football
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mine — for digging

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