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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. shower — rain
  7. staff — employees
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. staff — a stick
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rule — a law
  16. bore — to tire
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. rule — government
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a leader
  22. court — of a king
  23. staff — employees
  24. chair — a professorship

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