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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. land — ground
  6. bore — to drill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. land — a country
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. last — finally
  13. bore — to tire
  14. kid — child
  15. last — to go on
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. last — final
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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