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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — to tire
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — to drill

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