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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · mark · present · bore · jam · cold · kid · craft

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. craft — boats
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bore — to drill
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — to tire
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. present — there
  17. kid — child
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — not warm
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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