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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bore — to tire
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — to shout
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cell — a phone
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in biology
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cold — the Cold War

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