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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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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. swing — music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chair — a leader
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitch — completely
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bore — to tire
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tube — a container

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