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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bore — to drill
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — not warm

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