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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're almost out of ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — a law
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bore — to tire
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tear — to rip
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. swing — music
  21. rule — government
  22. pop — to visit
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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