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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. spring — of water
  7. dip — to sink
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chair — a leader
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. scale — in music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. staff — employees
  24. present — the time now

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