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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bank — of a river
  8. root — the cause
  9. last — finally
  10. spring — of water
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to drill
  17. root — of a word
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. game — a match
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — the season
  24. kick — a thrill

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