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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. land — a country
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — the season
  7. spell — letters
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — magic
  10. rest — a break
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rest — what's left
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. bound — certain
  24. fall — to drop

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