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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. hand — help
  3. bore — to tire
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. kid — child
  7. cell — in biology
  8. key — for a lock
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. hand — part of the body

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