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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — tied together
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. board — a committee
  8. stem — to come from
  9. file — a tool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bound — certain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. file — a document
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. board — to get on

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