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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  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 leader
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tube — a container
  13. bore — to tire
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tube — the underground
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bore — to drill
  20. last — final
  21. field — a subject
  22. toast — bread
  23. chair — a professorship
  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