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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wax — to grow
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bore — to drill
  15. kid — child
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — high quality
  19. pit — in a race
  20. fine — all right
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bore — to tire

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