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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fine — all right
  6. shower — rain
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. lean — thin
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. shower — to wash

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