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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. file — a document
  6. fine — all right
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bore — to drill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. file — a tool
  17. chair — a leader
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. file — a line of people
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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