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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. ground — a position
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. last — finally
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — to go on
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. last — final
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fork — in a road
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to click

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