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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. present — the time now
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spell — magic
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spell — a short time
  17. present — there
  18. bore — to drill
  19. race — the arms race
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — letters
  22. present — a gift
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. season — to add flavour

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