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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. band — a music group
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rule — a law
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. band — a ring
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rule — government
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. race — a contest

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