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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. land — ground
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — in football
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. sharp — clever
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — a country
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. shower — rain
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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