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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. face — to confront
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. face — to point toward
  16. spell — magic
  17. capital — a city
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. face — part of the head
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — letters
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. race — humankind

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