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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. land — ground
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bore — to tire
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. land — a country
  19. vault — a safe
  20. branch — a division
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mate — a friend

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