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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pit — in a race
  4. land — a country
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pound — a weight
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. land — ground
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. land — to come down
  17. plane — a tool
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. roll — a list
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pit — a hole

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