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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cap — a lid
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bore — to tire
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. season — in sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cap — of ice

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