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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — a phone
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. fall — the season
  9. bore — to drill
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. branch — a division
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — ground
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — to come down
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cell — in a prison

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