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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bore — to tire
  6. present — a gift
  7. capital — a city
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitch — completely
  10. present — there
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. foot — a measure
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — not warm
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. present — the time now
  24. date — on the calendar

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