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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bore — to drill
  3. net — after costs
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — for catching
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chest — of your body
  24. net — in sport

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