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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cue — a signal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cue — for pool
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pit — in a race
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. file — a tool
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. file — a document
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cue — a hint
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stem — a stem cell

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