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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rash — a series
  3. land — to come down
  4. mark — a grade
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — a coil
  7. root — of a word
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rash — hasty
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spring — the season
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. file — a line of people

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