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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a tool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. game — a match
  19. pit — a hole
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pit — in a race
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. file — a document

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