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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — child
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. sharp — exactly

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