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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. stem — to come from
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. content — happy
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. season — in sport
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. season — of the year
  16. content — the amount
  17. race — humankind
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. toast — bread
  20. roll — a list
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. game — a match
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — of a plant

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