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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — the amount
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — for light
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. content — happy
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — not warm
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fan — to cool the air

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