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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. row — a line
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. root — of a word
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. land — a country
  12. march — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — ground
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — to come down
  21. bore — to drill
  22. march — the month
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pass — a permit

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