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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kid — child
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bore — to tire
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — humankind
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. race — the arms race
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. deal — to handle

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