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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. sharp — clever
  3. file — a document
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bore — to tire
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. file — a line of people
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fine — high quality
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a tool
  16. bore — to drill
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mark — a trace
  23. last — finally
  24. calf — a young animal

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