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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wound — an injury
  6. charge — a price
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. charge — electricity
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bore — to drill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pit — a hole
  17. charge — in control
  18. row — a line
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. shower — rain

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