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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. object — a thing
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. march — music
  8. bore — to tire
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. object — an aim
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. row — a line
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. march — the month
  19. bore — to drill
  20. object — to protest
  21. march — the month
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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