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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — ground
  5. bound — certain
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. land — to come down
  11. key — in music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. land — a country
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bound — obliged
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cell — a phone
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. trunk — of a tree

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