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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 124 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — an illness
  4. last — final
  5. bore — to tire
  6. season — of the year
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bore — to drill
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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