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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pop — soda
  3. season — of the year
  4. ground — a position
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. pass — a permit
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pop — music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — to drill
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. season — in sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pass — to spend time

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