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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. scale — in music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bore — to drill
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rock — music
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. scale — for weighing

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