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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stem — to come from
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. mark — a grade
  7. last — final
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. row — a line
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bore — to drill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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