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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tear — from crying
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — a trace
  7. rule — a law
  8. bore — to drill
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — in music
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rash — hasty
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rash — a series
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rule — government
  24. tear — to rip

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