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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — a line
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pit — a hole
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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