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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. kid — child
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. field — farmland
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kid — to tease
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. shower — rain
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — for sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. lie — to recline

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