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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. present — a gift
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bore — to tire
  6. ground — a position
  7. file — a document
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. present — there
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. drill — a practice
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. drill — the tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. present — the time now

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