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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chair — a leader
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. present — a gift
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. game — a match
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wake — a trail
  13. present — the time now
  14. scale — in music
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bore — to drill
  23. scale — size or range
  24. present — there

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