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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. dip — to sink
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a music group
  12. rash — hasty
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rash — a series
  15. spell — letters
  16. kick — in football
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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