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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cold — not warm
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rest — a break
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hand — in cards
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wake — a trail
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — help

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