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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — steady
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. club — for dancing
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — for golf
  14. firm — a company
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. firm — decided
  18. bore — to drill
  19. dip — to sink
  20. club — a group
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bore — to tire

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