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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — to drill
  3. land — to come down
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. bore — to tire
  11. drill — army training
  12. ball — a great time
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — a leader
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. net — after costs
  21. ball — a dance
  22. land — a country
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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