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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bore — to drill
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — rain
  5. press — to push
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. row — a line
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bore — to tire
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. track — a path
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. track — to keep track

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