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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stem — to come from
  7. game — wild animals
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bore — to tire
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fork — in a road
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. stem — a stem cell

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