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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lie — to recline
  10. land — to come down
  11. ground — the earth
  12. land — ground
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chair — a leader

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