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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — to drill
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. roll — a list
  13. pop — soda
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cap — a lid
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pop — music
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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