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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — there
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spring — of water
  11. kid — child
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. present — the time now
  14. scale — in music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spring — the season
  17. suit — in cards
  18. scale — size or range
  19. suit — to fit
  20. present — a gift
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. suit — clothes

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