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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — final
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a leader
  7. last — to go on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chip — to eat
  13. present — the time now
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. degree — from a university
  16. last — finally
  17. mine — for digging
  18. present — a gift
  19. degree — an amount
  20. board — to get on
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. present — there
  23. board — a committee
  24. mine — belonging to me

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