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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bore — to drill
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — help
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — a container
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bore — to tire
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bound — certain

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