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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mate — a friend
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — money
  10. current — happening now
  11. season — in sport
  12. bore — to drill
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. track — a path
  16. current — electric
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bore — to tire
  21. track — a song
  22. current — of water
  23. season — of the year
  24. bark — 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