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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pop — soda
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pass — a permit
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bore — to tire
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pop — music
  24. cold — not warm

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