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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — a leader
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. snap — to click
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. net — for catching
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. net — after costs
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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