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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kid — child
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cell — in biology
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — a phone
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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