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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — final
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. stand — to bear
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. last — finally
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. game — a match
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. game — a kind of play

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