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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rule — government
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — a law
  13. row — to paddle
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a line
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — to sit on

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