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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a document
  5. root — the cause
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. file — a line of people
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bore — to drill
  10. snap — to click
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — of a word
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. last — to go on
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. last — finally
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. last — final
  20. shower — rain
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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