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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. last — to go on
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bore — to drill
  7. mate — to breed
  8. snap — to click
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. key — the most important part
  12. last — finally
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bore — to tire
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. key — in music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — a partner
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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