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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — the underground
  6. root — of a word
  7. bore — to drill
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — of water
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wound — an injury
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kick — in football
  24. leaves — of a tree

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