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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. present — a gift
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bore — to drill
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bore — to tire
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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