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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. staff — a stick
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a music group
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. staff — employees
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a ring
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. spring — of water

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