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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fine — high quality
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fine — all right
  10. band — a music group
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. bore — to tire
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. foot — a measure
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fine — a penalty

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