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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. march — the month
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chair — a leader
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — music
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — hasty
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. court — of law
  24. rash — on the skin

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