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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mate — a partner
  12. spell — magic
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wave — of the sea

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