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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: stem · fine · kid · bore · cold · march · hand · fall

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fall — the season
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bore — to tire
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kid — child
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — in cards
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fine — high quality
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. march — the month
  20. fine — all right
  21. march — music
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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