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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pit — in a race
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tube — a container
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a ring
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chair — a leader
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. band — a music group
  21. chip — for betting
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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