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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bore — to tire
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. present — there
  7. degree — from a university
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pop — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pop — soda
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — the time now
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cold — not warm
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. sharp — with an edge

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