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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — a hat
  5. drill — the tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bore — to drill
  13. spring — the season
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. drill — army training
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bore — to tire
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cap — a lid
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cap — of ice

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