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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. snap — to click
  4. fall — the season
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. court — of law
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fall — to drop
  14. toast — bread
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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