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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mate — to breed
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. root — the cause
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. clip — a video
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. capital — a city
  17. mate — a partner
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to drill
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bore — to tire

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