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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bore — to tire
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. mark — a grade
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. drill — a practice
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. snap — to click
  20. drill — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. drill — army training
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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