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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cap — a lid
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rule — a law
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rule — government
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bore — to drill
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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