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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. march — the month
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fine — all right
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. march — music

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