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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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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: pit · sharp · chair · cabinet · shower · bat · bore · cold

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — a leader
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bat — for baseball

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