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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bore — to tire
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. track — a path
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. track — a song
  23. cold — not warm
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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