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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. charge — in control
  3. row — a line
  4. content — happy
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. row — to paddle
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spring — the season
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — to come from
  15. charge — a price
  16. content — the amount
  17. charge — electricity
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — the animal

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