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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. band — a music group
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. band — a ring
  6. staff — employees
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. race — a contest
  12. chair — a leader
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fall — the season
  20. wake — a trail
  21. fall — to drop
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — gave birth

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