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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — army training
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. net — in sport
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. last — finally
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spring — the season
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bore — to drill
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — the tool

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