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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spring — of water
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — after costs
  8. mark — a trace
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — a coil
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mark — a grade
  20. net — in sport
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. net — for catching
  24. stem — to come from

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