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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — a position
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a music group
  10. bore — to tire
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tube — the underground
  17. file — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. band — a ring
  20. season — in sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tube — a container
  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