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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hand — help
  14. rule — a law
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rule — government
  20. bark — to shout
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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