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

Word bank: kid · chair · lean · bore · spring · straw · last · rule

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. rule — government
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — a law
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. kid — child
  22. last — final
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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