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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. staff — a stick
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hand — in cards
  8. perch — the fish
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. race — humankind
  13. hand — help
  14. race — a contest
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — to tire
  17. last — to go on
  18. staff — employees
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — for digging
  21. staff — employees
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. last — final

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