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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bore — to tire
  15. key — in music
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. key — for a lock
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — the most important part
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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