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

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pop — music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — a weight
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — child

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