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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bore — to tire
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stem — to come from
  12. charge — a price
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wax — to grow
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. drill — army training
  22. bore — to drill
  23. charge — in control
  24. drill — a practice

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