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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lie — to recline
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — to drill
  5. shower — rain
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spell — magic
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spell — a short time
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spell — letters
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. row — a line

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