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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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. object — to protest
  3. fine — all right
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chest — of your body
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chest — a box
  24. cabinet — ministers

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