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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. row — a line
  11. can — to be able to
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. can — a tin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bore — to drill
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. can — a tin
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. row — to paddle

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