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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chest — a box
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rush — hurry
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — in sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bore — to drill
  20. craft — boats
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — for digging

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