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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fork — in a road
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. rush — hurry
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. plane — a tool
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. tube — the underground
  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