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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bore — to drill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. date — the fruit

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