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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bore — to drill
  8. hand — help
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. face — to confront
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. face — part of the head

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