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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.

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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. snap — to click
  3. bore — to drill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. chair — a leader
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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