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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — child
  4. face — to point toward
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. root — of a plant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — of a word
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — in sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bore — to drill
  23. band — a ring
  24. season — of the year

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