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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. chest — a box
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a document
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. net — in sport
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a tool
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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