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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. band — a music group
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — to drill
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. fine — all right
  14. face — part of the head
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fine — high quality
  19. chair — a leader
  20. scale — size or range
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — in sport
  23. swing — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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