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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · bore · cold · pop · perch · face · tube · stem

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bore — to drill
  4. tube — a container
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pop — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bore — to tire
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — the cause
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. root — of a plant
  17. face — part of the head
  18. root — of a word
  19. pop — soda
  20. face — to confront
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cold — not warm
  24. perch — for a bird

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