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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. charge — a price
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bound — tied together
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. charge — in control
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wind — to turn a key

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