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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 116 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. race — humankind
  4. bore — to tire
  5. stem — to come from
  6. scale — size or range
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — the arms race
  10. scale — in music
  11. can — a tin
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. can — to be able to
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. race — a contest
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — for digging

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