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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. present — the time now
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — to tire
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mark — a grade
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. present — there
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. present — a gift
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. mark — a trace

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