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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. season — in sport
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. race — the arms race
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. file — a document
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bore — to tire
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. file — a tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cell — a phone
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bark — to shout
  24. race — a contest

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