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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ball — a great time
  4. board — a committee
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bat — the animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bore — to drill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bore — to tire
  14. row — to paddle
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. board — to get on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — a line
  24. bat — for baseball

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