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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 116 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bore — to drill
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tube — a container
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — money
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — the underground
  17. face — to confront
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pound — to hit hard

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