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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. present — the time now
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. present — there
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — to play on
  11. plane — a tool
  12. chair — a leader
  13. field — a subject
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bore — to tire
  16. field — farmland
  17. date — the fruit
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — a gift
  20. swing — music
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — help
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chair — a professorship

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