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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bore — to tire
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. present — the time now
  6. lean — thin
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — from a university
  9. present — there
  10. bore — to drill
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. present — a gift
  14. stem — to come from
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. race — humankind
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. race — the arms race

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