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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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Word bank
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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: staff · bowl · rule · bore · stem · cold · pitcher · mate

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. staff — employees
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. staff — employees
  23. rule — a law
  24. stem — to come from

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