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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. branch — a division
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bore — to tire
  18. fork — a garden tool

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