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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. game — a match
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lie — to recline
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bore — to tire
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — rain
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rash — a series
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bore — to drill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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