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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. court — of a king
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — in football
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. season — of the year
  14. prune — to trim
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. court — for sport
  24. season — in sport

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