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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. present — a gift
  4. bore — to tire
  5. drill — the tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. present — there
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. drill — army training
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bore — to drill
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cold — an illness
  18. file — a tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. present — the time now
  23. root — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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