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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. drill — army training
  3. capital — a city
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. present — there
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bore — to drill
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. bore — to tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — a coil
  23. present — a gift
  24. capital — money

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