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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. spell — letters
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — magic
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bore — to drill
  22. kid — child
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bore — to tire

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