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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. root — the cause
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — to go on
  5. court — for sport
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spring — the season
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — a coil
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. court — of a king
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — finally
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. court — of law
  21. present — the time now
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. present — a gift
  24. root — of a plant

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