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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. mate — a friend
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pop — soda
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mate — a partner
  21. saw — the tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pop — music

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