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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. game — a match
  5. dip — to sink
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. game — wild animals
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — a line
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — to shout
  13. club — a group
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. chair — a leader
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bore — to drill

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