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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — to come from
  7. present — a gift
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to tire
  10. present — the time now
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — there
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — of water
  20. bore — to drill
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. roll — a list

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