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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. land — ground
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pop — soda
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. cap — a lid
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. drill — army training
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. present — there
  22. land — a country
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cap — of ice

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