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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spell — letters
  5. lean — thin
  6. ground — a position
  7. bore — to drill
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rest — a break
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — magic
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ground — crushed

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