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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. net — for catching
  10. march — music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — from a university
  19. net — in sport
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — a leader
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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