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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. ground — a position
  3. mate — a friend
  4. scale — size or range
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. saw — the tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bark — to shout
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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