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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · pitch · fall · bore · cell · hand · mine · dip

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mine — for digging
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitch — completely
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cell — in a prison

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