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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bark — to shout
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — from a university

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