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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pound — a weight
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fall — the season
  17. capital — a city
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — money
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fall — to drop

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