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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. present — the time now
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — of law
  13. present — a gift
  14. court — of a king
  15. present — there
  16. land — to come down
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — for sport
  19. land — a country
  20. root — the cause
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — ground
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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