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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. saw — the tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. scale — in music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bore — to drill
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. saw — the tool

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