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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. court — of a king
  3. stock — shares
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bore — to tire
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. court — for sport
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fork — to eat with

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