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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spring — the season
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. row — a line
  11. present — a gift
  12. ground — a position
  13. present — the time now
  14. spring — of water
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — a coil
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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