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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lean — thin
  10. tube — a container
  11. foot — a measure
  12. race — humankind
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. key — the most important part
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stock — goods
  17. race — a contest
  18. stock — shares
  19. key — in music
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. key — for a lock
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. perch — the fish
  24. foot — the bottom

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