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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. spring — of water
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. branch — a division
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — a line
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mark — a grade
  21. last — final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — a supporter

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