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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bore — to tire
  8. season — in sport
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fall — to drop
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bore — to drill
  16. season — of the year
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fall — the season
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hide — to keep secret

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