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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. press — to push
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. press — newspapers
  12. fine — all right
  13. root — the cause
  14. stem — to come from
  15. press — a publisher
  16. root — of a word
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. mine — for digging
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. root — of a plant
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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