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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bore — to drill
  3. net — for catching
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. object — an aim
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — in cards
  14. object — to protest
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — a thing
  19. net — in sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bore — to tire
  24. kid — child

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