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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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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: bark · cell · mate · mine · game · bore · nail · season

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cell — in biology
  3. game — a match
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mate — a friend
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bore — to drill
  13. season — of the year
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. season — in sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cell — a phone

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