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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. date — the fruit
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — in a road
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fall — the season
  19. cell — a phone
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — to drill
  24. date — on the calendar

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