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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. root — of a word
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — the cause
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bore — to tire
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. net — for catching
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. net — in sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bore — to drill
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. chair — a professorship

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