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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. mark — a grade
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bore — to drill
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pit — in a race
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stand — to bear

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