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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pound — a weight
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. staff — employees
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — to hit hard

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