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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rest — what's left
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rest — a break
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — a match
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pound — a weight
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chair — a leader
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bore — to drill
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bore — to tire

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