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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — to drill
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bore — to tire
  7. drill — army training
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — a phone
  11. kid — child
  12. date — the fruit
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. drill — the tool

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