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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bore — to tire
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — a subject
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. field — farmland
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — for sport
  21. press — to push
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. ground — a position
  24. perch — for a bird

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