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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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rule — government
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pitch — completely
  9. rule — a law
  10. bore — to tire
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — ground
  15. file — a document
  16. land — to come down
  17. cap — a hat
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pitch — a sports field

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