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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — a leader
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. foot — a measure

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