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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bass — the fish
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — moving air

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