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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cold — not warm
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bore — to drill
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — an illness
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — a skill
  14. spring — of water
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. date — the fruit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. craft — boats

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