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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bore — to drill
  7. mate — a partner
  8. can — a tin
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bore — to tire
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mate — a friend

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