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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. land — ground
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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