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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bore — to drill
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. present — there
  7. rule — a law
  8. present — a gift
  9. tube — the underground
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — government
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — in a road
  21. tube — a container
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — from a university

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