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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: shower · bore · land · chair · saw · wax · pound · pit

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bore — to drill
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pit — a hole
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. shower — rain
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chair — a professorship

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