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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — a measure
  4. roll — a list
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. roll — a cake
  17. mark — a grade
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. plane — a tool
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. bore — to drill

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