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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. present — a gift
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mine — for digging
  16. present — there
  17. season — in sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. present — the time now
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bore — to tire

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