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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spell — letters
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spell — magic
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — an illness
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spell — a short time
  14. tube — a container
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. leaves — lets stay

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