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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. face — to point toward
  4. sharp — clever
  5. craft — a skill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cell — in biology
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. object — to protest
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — a coil
  14. object — an aim
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — the season
  18. object — a thing
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — to tire
  21. spring — of water
  22. band — a music group
  23. craft — boats
  24. face — part of the head

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