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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. drill — a practice
  6. file — a document
  7. bore — to drill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chair — a leader
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. file — a line of people
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bore — to tire
  23. hand — help
  24. drill — army training

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