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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — child
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. current — happening now
  18. bear — the animal
  19. current — of water
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bore — to tire

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