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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pass — a permit
  14. hand — help
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — to sink
  21. degree — from a university
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. rush — hurry

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