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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. row — to paddle
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — child
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — a line
  14. wake — a trail
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — to protest
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. object — a thing
  24. arm — a part of something

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