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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bass — low music
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rock — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a document
  11. rest — a break
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. court — of law
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bass — the fish
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rock — a stone
  23. court — of a king
  24. pit — a hole

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