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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. content — happy
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mate — a friend
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mate — to breed
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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