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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. object — to protest
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. object — an aim
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spring — of water
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chip — to eat
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spring — the season
  22. tube — the underground
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. object — a thing

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