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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. board — to get on
  3. suit — in cards
  4. board — a committee
  5. snap — to click
  6. chair — a leader
  7. suit — to fit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bark — to shout
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bore — to tire
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. suit — clothes
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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