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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 120 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bore — to tire
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stem — to come from
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bore — to drill
  11. root — of a plant
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kid — child
  16. charge — a price
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. drill — army training
  22. root — of a word
  23. charge — in control
  24. root — the cause

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