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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. land — to come down
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bore — to drill
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bore — to tire
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. land — ground
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. land — a country

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