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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 120 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. saw — the tool
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bore — to tire
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bore — to drill
  12. last — to go on
  13. charge — in control
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — final
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — a measure
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. last — finally

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