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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — there
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — to tire
  12. root — the cause
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bore — to drill
  18. chair — a leader
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spring — of water

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