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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. club — for golf
  7. press — to push
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. press — newspapers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — a trail
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — boats
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rule — a law
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rule — government
  24. club — a group

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