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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bass — the fish
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bass — low music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bore — to tire
  18. land — to come down
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. swing — in golf
  21. race — a contest
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — ground

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