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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. bowl — to roll
  4. last — to go on
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mate — to breed
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. date — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. chair — a leader
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mate — a friend

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