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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bore — to tire
  3. date — the fruit
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cell — in biology
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. bore — to drill
  24. key — for a lock

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