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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — to tire
  3. hand — help
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bore — to drill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. capital — money
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. straw — dry grass

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