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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. fall — to drop
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bear — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stem — to come from
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — the season
  24. bore — to tire

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