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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bore — to tire
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spring — the season
  7. fall — the season
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. content — the amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pit — in a race
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bore — to drill
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. spring — of water
  20. content — happy
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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