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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · wave · chair · bore · date · kid · stock · spring

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bore — to drill
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stock — goods
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. kid — to tease
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. stock — shares
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. season — of the year
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spring — a coil
  20. season — in sport
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chair — a leader
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stock — a soup base

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