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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spring — of water
  7. rock — a stone
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. court — of a king
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. perch — the fish
  21. toast — bread
  22. rock — music
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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