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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — to drill
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. charge — a price
  13. march — the month
  14. charge — in control
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. charge — electricity
  22. shower — rain
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. shower — to wash

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