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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bore — to drill
  5. spell — magic
  6. cap — of ice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — letters
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. spring — of water
  17. march — music
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spring — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. saw — the tool

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