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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kid — child
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hand — help
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spell — letters
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tube — the underground
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pop — to visit
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tube — a container
  24. pop — soda

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