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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chair — a leader
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — army training
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. drill — a practice
  11. court — of law
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — employees
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. staff — employees
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. drill — the tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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