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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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. ground — crushed
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lean — thin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. game — a match
  10. hand — in cards
  11. game — wild animals
  12. lean — to bend
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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