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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. object — a thing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. object — an aim
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mark — a grade
  13. object — to protest
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mark — a trace
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bore — to drill
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. chip — for betting
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in a prison

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