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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. plane — a tool
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bore — to tire
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — the animal
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bore — to drill
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. race — humankind
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. file — a tool
  22. sharp — clever
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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