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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rash — hasty
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lie — to recline
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. perch — the fish
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bore — to drill
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. rash — a series
  24. board — a flat piece

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