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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. present — the time now
  7. chair — a leader
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. net — after costs
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. net — for catching
  22. mine — for digging
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — gave birth

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