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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. race — humankind
  3. ground — the earth
  4. row — a line
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. race — a contest
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ground — a position
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stock — goods
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bore — to drill
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — the animal
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bat — in an idiom

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