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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. track — a path
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. track — a song

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