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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — to confront
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. face — to point toward
  20. club — a group
  21. rash — hasty
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bore — to drill

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