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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bore — to drill
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pit — a hole
  17. spell — magic
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. field — for sport

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