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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — a leader
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — money
  6. last — final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. last — to go on
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bore — to tire
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — a city
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to drill
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. hand — help

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