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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bore — to tire
  4. object — to protest
  5. ball — a dance
  6. object — an aim
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. object — a thing
  18. fine — high quality

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