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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kid — child
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — army training
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bore — to tire
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bore — to drill
  15. charge — in control
  16. degree — temperature
  17. charge — a price
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — from a university
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pit — in a race
  24. drill — the tool

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