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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — in music
  3. bore — to tire
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. swing — music
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — a practice
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. drill — army training
  23. shower — rain
  24. squash — the vegetable

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