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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cap — of ice
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — shares
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lean — to bend
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cap — a lid
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stock — goods
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cap — a hat
  24. lean — thin

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