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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bore — to drill
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. face — to confront
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rule — government
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rule — a law

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