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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — a grade
  4. drill — the tool
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. drill — army training
  11. bore — to drill
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bore — to tire
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. foot — part of the body

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