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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. press — to push
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fork — in a road
  11. last — to go on
  12. can — a tin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bore — to tire
  15. press — a publisher
  16. can — a tin
  17. last — final
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. last — finally
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. can — to be able to
  24. kick — in football

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