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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: bore · wind · kid · file · stem · racket · spring · foot

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. file — a line of people
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. kid — child
  11. foot — a measure
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kid — to tease
  24. racket — a loud noise

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