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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — to fit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bore — to drill
  7. club — a group
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. suit — in cards
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. spell — letters
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. club — for dancing
  16. ground — a position
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bore — to tire
  23. ground — the earth
  24. field — a subject

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