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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bore — to tire
  6. drill — a practice
  7. ground — the earth
  8. club — for dancing
  9. lean — thin
  10. ground — a position
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — the season
  14. lean — to bend
  15. club — for golf
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — a group
  18. spring — of water
  19. bore — to drill
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. drill — army training
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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