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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. staff — employees
  9. rest — a break
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. march — music
  13. game — a match
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. game — wild animals

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