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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. 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. chair — a professorship
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — child
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. club — for dancing
  18. 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