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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. capital — money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. present — there
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rash — a series
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ground — the earth
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bore — to tire
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. present — a gift
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bore — to drill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ground — a position

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