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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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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: foot · bat · march · cue · wind · date · bore · chair

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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 — gave birth
  2. foot — a measure
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cue — for pool
  5. march — the month
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. date — the fruit
  12. march — music
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — the animal
  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