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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — help
  3. rule — a law
  4. object — a thing
  5. present — a gift
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. object — an aim
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stem — to come from
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — to protest
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — rain
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rule — government
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. present — there

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