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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spring — of water
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — of law
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — for sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. court — of a king
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. spring — the season
  24. stem — of a plant

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