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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. track — a song
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. net — in sport
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kid — child
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. net — for catching
  22. drill — army training
  23. bore — to tire
  24. net — after costs

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