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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — a box
  6. tube — the underground
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — a container
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bore — to tire
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — a line
  23. present — the time now
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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