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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bore — to drill
  5. root — of a word
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mug — a face
  13. root — of a plant
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in biology
  16. drill — army training
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mug — to rob
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. root — the cause
  23. drill — the tool
  24. capital — money

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