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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bore — to tire
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. present — the time now
  10. court — of law
  11. squash — the sport
  12. deal — to handle
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. present — a gift
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. court — of a king
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. present — there
  24. bore — to drill

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