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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mug — a face
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mug — a cup
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mate — a friend
  17. land — a country
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — ground
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hand — in cards

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